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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."